


the caffeine awakens

by mixtapestar



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-14 10:53:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5740927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mixtapestar/pseuds/mixtapestar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jakku Java has only been open two weeks, but they’re already a huge hit with the corporate crowd downtown. Finn heads over hoping to finally get Rey's number, only to find her out sick and a new guy, Poe, behind the counter. That's when things get complicated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the caffeine awakens

**Author's Note:**

> I combined the Fandom First Friday focus (coffee shop AUs!) with my short story prompt: rising to a challenge. I was itching to write these three, and the story kind of kept growing because I couldn't stop. :P Hopefully you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> Cheesy title because I can never come up with something witty. :P

“Today I’m gonna get her number,” Finn says to his coworker.

“Whatever,” Zero says, barely looking up from his computer screen.

Finn claps him on the shoulder anyway and heads for the elevators. Either way, he needs coffee to get through the rest of this day.

Jakku Java has only been open two weeks, but they’re already a huge hit with the corporate crowd downtown. Finn darts across the street when no cars are coming, beelining directly for the shop instead of walking over to the crosswalk.

He’d gone in on their very first day, tired of the tasteless stuff his company provided and in need of something new. The first thing he saw was the brilliant smile of Rey the barista. He’s been coming back every day since.

Today, he’s timed his visit just right, knowing that they have a bit of a lull around 10:45 between the morning rush and the lunch rush.

Sure enough, the shop is fairly empty, and there’s only one person in line. He queues up and stares up at the menu for a moment, trying to word his question in his head. He has no idea what he’s going to say, but he’s got to take a shot with Rey. He’ll regret it forever if he doesn’t.

But when the customer in front of him steps aside, it’s not Rey that’s behind the counter.

“You’re not Rey,” Finn says before he can stop himself.

The barista smiles as Finn reads his nametag: Poe. “Rey’s at home sick today, I’m afraid, but I’m the manager. I promise you’re still in good hands.”

Finn nearly swallows his tongue. Poe is not only as attractive as Rey, in his own way, his smile is just as captivating. “Oh,” Finn says lamely. “Good.”

“What can I get for you?” Poe asks.

Finn’s mind draws a blank. _Your number_ , he thinks, but that’s no longer his goal. Is it? “Um, I dunno. Something to wake me up. What do you recommend?”

“A less soul-sucking job,” Poe says, eyeing Finn's badge. Finn cracks a smile. He’s not wrong. “Seriously though, what do you prefer: sweet or strong?”

“Both, actually,” Finn answers.

Poe fixes him with a sly smile. “You got it.”

***

“Well?” Zero asks when he returns with a triple shot raspberry white chocolate mocha. “Did you get it?”

Finn fidgets with his lid. “She wasn’t working today.”

“Bummer,” Zero says, still typing away.

“I met her manager, though,” he says, feeling like he’s betraying Rey already as he says it. Zero makes an affirming noise, but it’s clear he isn’t listening. Finn just sighs and goes back to his work.

***

Finn meets Han one day as Han makes his way out of Jakku Java. Actually, he crashes into him. Han promptly drops his coffee and curses creatively as it spills everywhere. Finn apologizes all over himself and insists on buying him a new cup.

Han agrees reluctantly, providing his name when asked, and follows him back to the line. “No offense, kid, but you look like crap.”

“I work for First Order Bank,” Finn says, because that’s explanation enough.

Han stares at him for a few seconds. “Why?”

“That’s a good question,” Finn says. He’s feeling particularly down about it today, after yet another experience of having to tell someone their loan has been denied for absolutely ridiculous reasons.

Poe is working today, and he shoots Finn a sympathetic look as soon as he reaches the counter. It must be true that Finn looks terrible. Poe adds a shot of espresso to his latte at no extra charge.

“You’re alright, kid,” Han says after he receives his new cup of coffee. He hands over a business card. “Shoot me an email if you want to talk career options.”

Finn puts the card in his wallet as Han walks out of the shop (more slowly this time, Finn notices). Poe’s expression has shifted to worry as he hands over Finn’s latte. “I couldn’t help overhearing,” Poe says. “You doing alright?”

“Rough day,” is all Finn will say about it.

Poe nods, biting his lip for a moment. It’s just an absent motion, but Finn finds himself staring. “When do you take your lunch?”

“Uh, I dunno,” Finn says, surprised. “Usually around 1, I guess.”

“Perfect!” Poe says, his smile lighting up Finn’s day. “I’ll meet you in front of the store at 1.”

Finn nods as he takes a sip of his latte. He’s already stepping away from the counter before it registers what Poe has said. “Wait, what?” he asks, but Poe is already back at the register, helping the next customer.

***

“It’s not like this was the exact job I had in mind when I graduated,” Finn is defending just a couple of hours later over tacos. “But it was the job I got. It was something, you know?”

“Sure,” Poe agrees easily, “but you know that’s not your only option, right?”

Finn picks at the shell of his taco. “Finding a new job is easier said than done.”

“Come work at Jakku,” Poe says, as if it’s that easy.

“As if it’s that easy,” Finn says, but when he looks up, Poe’s expression tells him he’s serious. “Wait, for real?”

“I’ll have to put in a good word with the owner, but yeah. You should join us. It’s still work, but we have fun.”

Finn thinks about it for a minute. “I gotta be honest with you, it sounds too good to be true.”

“I bet you say that to all the job offers,” Poe says with a smirk, nudging his knee against Finn’s under the table. Finn flushes and looks away. “I’m sure the money’s not quite as good.”

“I don’t really care about that,” Finn says honestly.

Poe nods. “You’re good friends with Rey too, yeah?”

Finn doesn’t know if he’d go that far, but they’re definitely friendly. “Sure.”

“She’ll be back in tomorrow,” Poe says, nodding like he’s sure of himself. “I bet she can convince you.”

Finn doesn’t think he needs any further convincing, but he nods anyway.

***

“Finn!” Rey says brightly when he approaches the counter the next morning.

“Are you feeling better?” Finn asks.

“Much better, thanks.” She immediately starts making his former usual: a black and white mocha with a dash of cinnamon. “What’s this I hear about you maybe coming to join us?”

“Is that an option?” he asks, reaching up to cover up his badge as he glances around to make sure his boss isn’t nearby.

“Of course,” she assures him. “This place is kind of a life saver. I don’t know where I’d be right now if they hadn’t hired me.” She hands over his mocha and smiles. “We’d love to have you.”

It doesn’t take much to convince him after that.

***

The first thing Finn realizes about his new job is that it’s not all going to be fixing drinks and lingering touches as he moves around his coworkers. The espresso machine breaks within five minutes of his first shift, and he has no idea what to do.

Luckily, Rey is also on shift, and as soon as he lets her know of the issue, she moves in expertly and performs some kind of magic that gets the machine working again in no time. Finn can only stare with hearts in his eyes.

The customers are very impatient, though. Finn’s handled his fair share of customer service, but he hadn’t really considered that he would now be serving the same rude people he’d been working for over the last few years. Poe and Rey hadn’t mentioned that when he agreed to take the job.

Still, he reaches the end of his shift, and he sees the light at the end of the tunnel when Rey and Poe both invite him out for drinks.

At the bar, the three of them swap stories over horrible customers. Rey and Poe have nicknames for all of their regulars, as it turns out, and Finn laughs until his sides hurt when he learns they call his former boss ‘Captain Phasma’.

By the time Finn stumbles into a cab at the end of the night, he feels warm all over from the touches shared across arms and backs as the three of them joked around and enjoyed each other’s company. It’s the first day in a long time that he’s gone home with a smile on his face.

***

The first time Finn serves Han, he gets an earful. At first, Finn has no idea what Han is so angry about, but eventually he is able to glean that Han had been offering him this same job first, before Poe had a chance.

“You never said that!” Finn argues, trying to get Han to calm down.

“Don’t patronize me, kid,” Han says, pointing at him.

“You said ‘career options’. That’s what head hunters say when they want ten percent of your signing bonus.”

Han just stares at him for a second. “Yeah, okay, fair enough. But you still should’ve emailed me.”

“I would have if Poe hadn’t offered me the job,” Finn says, because he’s pretty sure he would’ve been desperate enough to try anything after another week or so.

Han grunts what Finn assumes is an acceptance of that. Finn smiles and steps back to get his coffee. He silently thanks whatever deities might be listening that so many threads would have led him to this same spot.

***

When Finn finally meets the owner of Jakku Java, he can’t help but feel intimidated. He’s heard about Leia from every single person who works there (and from Han, who speaks of her with a quiet reverence), and he knows she’s something of a legend.

In person, she is such a positive, confident presence that he can’t help but overcome his nervousness and do a good job. The days he spent worrying about her visit seem silly in retrospect. Still, Poe claps him on the back at the end of the day, and Rey pulls him into a side hug as they both congratulate him on keeping his head.

***

Three weeks after starting his new job at Jakku, Finn finally gets phone numbers from Rey and Poe.

It seems so trivial at this point, because they have the easy excuse that they might need to update each other on changing shifts or store closures now that winter is upon them. But it feels like a big deal to Finn when Rey pulls out her phone at the Cantina after work and says, “Finn, I don’t have your number,” as if it’s a gross oversight.

“Me either,” Poe jumps in, sounding affronted. “I don’t know how many times I’ve gone to send you a link to an article and realized I couldn’t.”

“You could’ve emailed me,” Finn says, because that’s how they’ve kept updated in the past. Over at First Order, they always made such a big deal about keeping work life and home life separate. If he’d given his personal number to a coworker there, he’d probably have gotten a reprimand at a minimum. He might even have been demoted.

Rey is still looking at him expectantly, though, so he quickly rattles off his phone number, 555-2187. He turns to see Poe typing it in as well, and he hides a smile by taking a sip of his beer. His pocket vibrates a few seconds later with a text, then again before he can pull his phone out. The first message says _Hi Finn_ and the second says _hey handsome_. Finn laughs and says, “Well at least I know which of you is which,” saving Rey’s number then Poe’s respectively.

The conversation shifts again to the latest issue of _Saga_ , but Finn’s mind is still on the two new numbers in his pocket. When he’d set out to get first Rey’s and eventually Poe’s numbers over a month ago, he hadn’t really known them. Now it’s nearly indisputable that they are his friends. He feels like he belongs for the first time.

***

_To: Rey, Poe_  
Finn:  
can I use ‘too much dragon age not enough sleep’ as a valid reason to stay home today?  
Poe:  
not unless both of us can do the same  
pretty sure the shop would have a problem with no one behind the counter on a Friday  
Rey:  
You are both weak.  
Get your asses to work and I’ll make you my special super secret triple shot surprise.  
Finn:  
already getting dressed

***

Two months into this job, and Finn is about to go crazy. He hangs out with Poe and Rey all the time, sometimes with the addition of other coworkers or Han and his best friend Chewie, but mostly just Poe and Rey. And it’s always great. Even when they’re snipping at each other over the proper way to fix the espresso machine or who’s better at pinball, Finn always leaves with a smile on his face.

The problem comes when he gets home, and he’s left alone with his feelings.

He likes Rey. He’s always liked Rey. She’s charming and self-assured and takes no shit from anyone. She listens to Finn when he sees someone from his former job and has to vent about how awful it was working with them. She’s opened up to him so much over the last several weeks, talking about her family and her long search for a job that she didn’t hate getting out of bed in the morning for.

He also likes Poe. Poe, who literally gave Finn the coat off his back when it was snowing and Finn had a mile to walk home. Poe, who speaks his mind but listens to other people’s point of view instead of steamrolling forward with his own. Poe, who seems to flirt with Finn mercilessly, but also turns on the charm for Rey, so that’s probably just the way he works.

He likes them both, and it’s making for a lot of restless nights.

***

“You’re awful quiet today, kid,” Han says during what has become their weekly lunch. Finn isn’t sure when that became a routine, but he doesn’t mind it.

“Sorry. I haven’t really been sleeping,” Finn says.

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” Han says. Finn raises his eyebrows at him until Han cracks a smile. “Maybe too much caffeine during the day?”

“Maybe,” Finn says, thinking it’s too much of everything else. “Look, can I be straight up with you?” Han spreads his hands out in a gesture Finn assumes means he can. “I have no idea how to tell if someone is interested in me.”

Han grunts.

“I mean, I’ve talked to Rey about our ideal kind of date, and Poe jumped right in to make it a hypothetical three-person outing. Poe and I were brainstorming Valentine’s Day specials for the store, and Rey stuck her head in to suggest a buy two, get one free. It just seems like every time I start to think maybe I can choose, or maybe one of them will choose for me, something happens to reset everything. You know?”

Han stares blankly at him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Finn drops his head onto the table in frustration.

“Listen, I’m not really the guy you want to go to for relationship advice. All I can tell ya is be honest, because if you’re not, it’s almost definitely gonna come back to bite ya.”

Finn picks his head up, rubbing in the middle where he’d hit the table a bit too hard. “Yeah, I guess. Hard to be honest when you don’t know how you really feel.”

Han cocks an eyebrow. “I think you know how you really feel.”

Finn sighs. Han’s right.

***

Finn has the next day off, and for the first time in a long time, he doesn’t stop by the shop. He stays at home all day, and even though he cleans until the place is nearly spotless, he’s still feeling restless by mid-afternoon.

He discovers that he’s left his phone on silent, and he’s missed messages from Poe and Rey, both in their group chat and one-on-one.

_To: Rey, Poe_  
Poe:  
every time I have to make a latte decaf my soul dies a little  
Rey:  
Don’t be so elitist. Coffee is coffee.  
Poe:  
finn, back me up here  
he’s probably sleeping because somebody made him decaf by mistake

Poe:  
haven’t seen you today  
can you bring my copy of watchmen when you come for drinks?

Rey:  
Are you actually taking the ‘off’ of your day off for once?  
We’ll still be going for drinks tonight if you’re free.

Finn smiles at every message. The way Poe just assumes he’ll come by, but Rey makes a point to invite him out. Poe using the group text even though Rey is on shift and probably standing right next to him. Finn groans and drops heavily back on his newly-made bed. There is no way he’ll ever be able to act on his feelings in either direction. He could never break up what the three of them have.

***

It must be Thursday. Finn could never get the hang of Thursdays.

First, Captain Phasma comes in and orders an immensely complex drink that she makes Finn remake three times. Finn is sure this is revenge for his quitting without notice, but he grits his teeth and completes the order to her satisfaction.

The espresso machine breaks three times that morning, and without Rey there to fix it, Finn feels like he’s just putting bubble gum over something that needs to be welded. As he does his best to get it working, he glares at the ‘Millennium’ in the brand name, because there’s no way this thing was made in this century.

Poe isn’t in today, either, and Finn loves his other coworkers, he does, but he’s so used to having either Rey or Poe close by that commiserating with anyone else feels wrong.

It all comes to a head when he leaves the muffins in too long, and the whole batch is ruined. Finn slips into the back, then into the storage room, and slides down in the corner to bury his head in his hands. He doesn’t know why he’s so upset about something so small. It’s not as if it hasn’t happened before. But as he tries to get over it, his mind catches on the likelihood that the espresso machine will break again, or that one of his former coworkers will come in and try to bully him around again. He doesn’t see how he’s gonna get through the remaining three hours of his shift.

His phone buzzes in his pocket with an email, reminding him that he has it. He fishes it out and stares at the screen, trying to think of what he wants to say.

_To: Rey, Poe_  
Finn:  
worst of worst days

He finds that he doesn’t really want to elaborate more than that. He’s worried that he didn’t convey the seriousness of the situation, though, and that they’ll both give him a hard time for not being able to cope without them.

This isn’t really his break time, though, and Jess will kill him if he abandons her at the register. So Finn slips his phone back into his pocket and scrubs at his face before heading back to the front.

He’s barely out the door when his phone starts buzzing in his pocket. He gets caught up serving a horrendously long line of customers, tag-teaming with Jess, but his phone keeps going off so often that he finds his mood vastly improved already by the time he has a chance to check it.

Rey:  
I’m caught in a bank-related hell right now, but Poe is on his way.  
I think he wants it to be a surprise, but he seems to have less bad days and doesn’t understand.  
So please act surprised.

_To: Rey, Poe_  
Poe:  
you’re totally allowed to spit in their drinks if they’re awful to you  
(p) Lord of the Rings take two tonight.”

“That’s great,” Finn says weakly, suddenly realizing what’s been churning in the back of his mind throughout the day. Last week, the three of them had squished onto Rey’s couch, Finn in the middle, and watched _The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring_ \- the extended edition. Nearly four hours of one of Finn’s favorite movies combined with close proximity to his two favorite people. It should have been great, and really, it was. But Finn hadn’t slept for more than an hour that night, caught up with his inability to get over his feelings for both of them. He’d been wondering for nearly a week if he should stop accepting invitations to hang out with them so that he could get the distance he needs to start moving on. But now he’s put it off too long, and he’s faced with another night of silent anguish.

“What is it?” Poe asks, and Finn realizes how obviously unenthused he’d sounded.

“I dunno,” Finn evades, “I’m not sure I’m up for it tonight.”

“That’s alright,” Poe says kindly. “We can save it for later if that’s what you want. We’ll do something else.”

“I think maybe I need a night to myself,” Finn says, his voice sounding a bit off even to his own ears.

Poe nods slowly, his expression full of understanding, and Finn makes his excuses and slips back through the door to return to the front. His heart is pounding wildly. It’s the biggest lie he’s ever told.

***

A few hours later, Finn is alone in his apartment with a tub of ice cream, hating himself. Rey and Poe have been nothing but kind to him, and they both went out of their way today to make him feel better, and this is how he repays them. By running away.

He can’t keep going on like this. He can’t blame or ostracize the two of them just because of his feelings. But he also can’t see going on right now pretending that his heart doesn’t race every time he first sees either of them. That he doesn’t ache to reach out and take Rey’s hand when they walk down the street together, or curl his arm around Poe’s back. That he doesn’t fantasize about how different it would be kissing Rey, who is always careful, sweet, and thoughtful, than kissing Poe, who is full of dedicated energy and always so tactile.

“I’m being such a cliché right now,” Finn says out loud to no one around his spoonful of ice cream. Normally he would text this kind of sentiment to Poe and Rey. God, what a dick he’s being. They probably think they’ve done something wrong, and it’s all his fault. The least he can do is assure them that he’s the jerk here.

_To: Rey, Poe_  
Finn:  
sorry for backing out on plans tonight

The response is almost immediate.

Rey:  
It’s alright. Movie marathons will always be there. It’s more important for you to feel better.  
Poe:  
what she said  
but if you need us we’re here  
Rey:  
What he said.

His heart aches. He doesn’t deserve the two of them.

He shuts his phone off and goes to bed early.

***

He gets through the next morning in a fog. He had slept nearly eleven hours, but he doesn’t feel very restful. Poe is sharing the shift with him, carefully avoiding Finn, only talking to him about work. Finn can hardly blame him. When Poe had asked how he was first thing that morning, Finn had practically snapped at him.

Finn mans the register, leaving the drinks to Poe, who is still so much better at it than Finn. He keeps his best customer service smile pasted on his face, taking order after order and focusing on the monotony of it.

They hit a lull around 10:30, and Poe calls him into the back room. Their newest barista, Snap, darts out front at Poe’s direction, leaving the two of them alone.

“You ready to talk about it yet?”

Finn swallows thickly. “Talk about what?”

“Something is obviously wrong, Finn.” He rakes a hand through his hair and leaves it even more attractively tousled. “Rey says we shouldn’t push you, but I don’t know how to stand idly by, okay? Is it us? Is it me? Did I take it too far?”

“Take what too far?” Finn asks, losing track of the conversation.

“This… whatever it is. What we have with Rey. I know… I mean, it’s obvious how you two feel about each other. Am I just getting in the way?”

“No,” Finn says immediately and vehemently. There is way too much in what Poe just said that Finn still has to process, but the last thing he wants is for Poe to think he’s the problem here. “I—I don’t know what you’re saying. We shouldn’t be doing this here.”

“So it is about us,” Poe confirms. He looks uneasy. “This is all my fault.”

“Shut up. No it’s not,” Finn says. His heart is beating frantically, and he’s not sure if it’s from terror or hope. “Look, you’re right. We need to talk about this. But not here. And not without Rey.”

Poe peers at him carefully, and Finn does his best to appear confident as he looks back. “Alright,” Poe says finally. “Cantina tonight?”

“I’ll text Rey,” Finn says in agreement. Rey texts back before Finn can resume his work.

Finn:  
cantina tonight? spoilers, there will be apologies and things might get serious  
Rey:  
Of course. I’ll be there.  
Hope you’re feeling better.

***

The rest of Finn’s shift seems to last forever. Poe’s words play on repeat in his mind, and he still can’t make sense of them. He doesn’t dare to hope… anything really. But it’s only fair to Rey and Poe to tell them why he’s acting so weird. Maybe if he’s honest about it - and isn’t that what Han had said, after all? - they’ll understand and give him the space he needs to get over them. They’d given him space last night, after all, even though he’d definitely been wrong about that.

“I hate this,” Finn says as they walk to the Cantina after clocking out. Might as well get a head start on the honesty.

Poe places a hand lightly on Finn’s back as they walk. Finn eases just a bit at the familiar touch. “The weather, the bar, or the company?” he jokes easily, though Finn thinks he can hear the edge in it.

“Fucking with our happiness,” Finn says, avoiding the joke.

“Shut up. You’re doing no such thing,” Poe says as they join Rey at the bar.

Rey presses a kiss to Finn’s cheek in greeting, as she often does, and Finn blushes, just as he always does. He takes the stool next to her and Poe takes the one next to him, and Finn feels strange once more.

“Can we maybe get a table?” Finn suggests, and within minutes they’re sliding into a wraparound booth, drinks in hand.

Finn stares into his beer for a few minutes as Poe and Rey make small talk over him about their days. He lasts just until Poe tells the story wrong about the guy with the ‘special syrup’.

“Nah, man, it wasn’t that he wanted to add it to his latte, it’s that he was insistent that we do it for him.”

“Alcohol or something else?” Rey asks, amused.

“I don’t even wanna know,” Finn says.

“It was in a flask,” Poe adds. “That’s all we can say for sure.”

Finn sighs, knowing that the longer he puts this off the more awkward it will become. He takes a deep breath and says, “I’m sorry for acting weird.”

Poe’s hand goes to his knee and Rey’s to his shoulder as they both assure him he’s done nothing wrong.

“Okay, but let’s not pretend this wasn’t new,” Finn says. “I pretty much ran away from you guys after you made every effort to improve my day, and that was a dick move.”

“I wasn’t going to say it,” Poe says sarcastically, and Rey reaches across to smack his arm.

“I thought that it would be easier if I started to step away, but that’s never gonna work if you guys don’t understand why I’m doing it.”

It’s deathly quiet when he takes a breath, but Finn doesn’t look away from his beer on the table. “I know it’s… unfortunate, and that I’m probably ruining everything, but I have feelings for both of you, and despite my best efforts, they don’t seem to be going away anytime soon.”

He starts peeling at the label on his beer in the silence that follows, fighting the compulsion to crawl under the table and take off.

“Oh thank god,” Rey suddenly says, her voice full of relief. Finn and Poe turn to her. “I thought it was just me.”

She takes Finn’s hand and reaches across the table to take Poe’s, and Finn feels a surge of affection and hope. He stares at her in disbelief for a moment, their eyes dancing as they meet. Finn can see his own fear and excitement mirrored in her expression, and as one, they both shift their focus to Poe.

Poe’s normally suave demeanor is nowhere to be seen. He takes a shaky breath and says, “Well hell, if you guys insist.” Finn can practically feel the stern look Rey is shooting Poe’s way, even though he can just barely see her out of the corner of his eye. “Okay, yeah, it’s not just you. Truth be told, I’ve been going crazy waiting for you two kids to announce your engagement and go running off together.”

Rey scrunches up her nose. “I hate it when you call us kids. You’re not that much older than us.”

“As if we’d run off anywhere without you,” Finn scoffs.

Poe lets out a laugh that sounds almost hysterical, and it catches at Finn’s heart until he’s laughing too. Rey joins in, amused at the two of them, until they’re all acting completely ridiculous and unable to stop laughing. Finn can feel the relief sinking into his bones and reaches out to pull Poe and Rey closer in the booth, finally allowing himself to touch. He doesn’t even care how much attention they’re drawing to themselves. He’s never felt happier in his life.

***

They finish their one drink at the Cantina and decide to go to Finn’s place for privacy, since it’s closest.

Finn fidgets with the keys and takes three tries to open his door. Rey’s laugh is warm in his ear, and Poe offers to give it a try himself just as the key turns successfully.

Their laughter carries easily through Finn’s apartment as he flips on the light. Immediately he realizes he really should have made an effort to clean up before leaving for work this morning. The wreckage of his night of self-loathing litters the living room. Empty ice cream bucket, one spoon. Pile of, like, seven blankets. The Netflix screen timed out on his TV.

He scoops up the trash quickly, embarrassed, but Poe just says, “I can’t believe you already ate all the ice cream.”

Rey scrunches up her nose. “How can you eat ice cream with it so cold out?”

“Dairy just tastes better in the winter!” Poe insists. By the time Finn comes back from the kitchen with three fresh beers, the two of them have already taken up their own space on Finn’s couch.

“He’s right, you know,” Finn says, squeezing in beside Rey.

“He definitely isn’t,” Rey says, laughing as she takes two of the beers and passes one to Poe. “But more for you two I suppose.”

Their laughs fade into silence after a moment until each of them glance away from each other and take a swig of beer. “So, um, _Lord of the Rings_?” Finn asks, grabbing for the remote.

“Finn,” comes the reprimand in surround sound as Rey and Poe say it simultaneously.

Finn drops the remote back on the coffee table and holds his hands up surrender, exaggerating an ashamed look.

“So how do we do this?” Rey asks carefully. Finn smiles. She’s already getting her game face on, and he’s so ridiculously fond of her.

“I think someone probably has to kiss me soon,” Poe says, sounding sure of himself. His eyes are dancing when Finn meets his gaze across the couch. Finn watches him shift focus to Rey, and then Rey turns around to look at Finn. Her expression is both amused and challenging.

Finn shrugs and does his best to sound nonchalant. “You’re closer.”

And yeah, maybe he’s only half-joking, because he kind of doesn’t want to be the first one to do anything. What if they immediately decide this is a bad idea? He doesn’t want to be in the thick of it and have it go away again. He doesn’t want to be the reason it falls apart.

Rey holds up her hand toward Finn, waiting expectantly until he laces his fingers with hers. She tugs him a little closer on the couch even as she twists the other way. Poe moves forward to brush a hand over her cheek and down to cup her jaw, and they come together in the sweetest kiss.

Finn doesn’t know why he thought it was a good idea to let them go first. How is he ever gonna measure up to this? They are a perfect picture. Finn is almost tempted to fish his phone out of his pocket and snap a quick photo for future reference, but he doesn’t want to look away long enough to make it happen.

The kiss only lasts a few seconds, though it feels like a lifetime to Finn. As Rey and Poe ease out of the kiss, their eyes hold steady in a staring match, and their mouths hang open just slightly. Finn wonders what’s going through their head.

“I insist,” Poe says quietly, and Rey nods, and before Finn has time to ask what they’re talking about, Rey twists back around and captures Finn’s lips with her own. Her hand untangles from Finn’s and she slides two hands across Finn’s shoulders and up to his neck as he gets with the program and kisses her back.

He’s thought about kissing Rey so many times that it’s hard to reconcile at first. The kiss is sweet, but she’s not patient. She nips at his lips after a moment and his brain kicks into high gear. He’s an idiot if he wastes this opportunity. He deepens the kiss as he reaches for her, pulling her close enough to wrap his arms around her. She swings her legs around easily until she’s practically in his lap, and with a quick tease of her tongue against his lips, she pulls away, a wicked smile forming on her lips.

Finn needs a moment after that. He’s not sure his heart can take any more, but he looks past her to where Poe should be, only to find that side of the couch empty. He panics for barely a second until he notices Rey glancing up and past him. He turns to find Poe leaning down toward him over the couch’s armrest.

Poe reaches out to trace his thumb over Finn’s bottom lip, his gaze scorching when their eyes meet. Finn licks his already kiss-swollen lips and catches Poe’s thumb in the process. Poe curses quietly and surges forward, putting his lips where his thumb just was and sucking Finn’s lower lip into his mouth hungrily. Poe brackets Finn’s face in his hands, too, but in an entirely different way from Rey. Whereas Rey’s touch had kept him anchored, the same way her light traces on his back now are keeping him anchored, Poe’s grip seems to guide him, tilting his head just so to kiss him breathless.

“You guys are gonna be the death of me,” Finn says on an exhale that transforms into a laugh. Poe perches on the armrest and reaches behind Finn to play with Rey’s hair.

“But what a way to go,” Poe says.

“You doing okay?” Rey asks, concerned but smiling.

Finn laughs. “Yeah, I think it’s safe to say I’m over my weird avoidance thing.”

“You’re totally allowed to have space if you need space,” Rey says practically. “But if it’s about us, we’ll work through it together.”

“And don’t be surprised if I argue with you about needing space,” Poe says. 

“That goes for you too,” she says to Poe. “Don’t think I missed the bitterness in your tone when you talked of engagements and running off.”

Poe has the decency to look ashamed.

“You’re as much in this as we are,” Finn says, though even as he says it, he doubts his luck one more time. “We’re really doing this?”

A few beats of silence pass by as they each check in with each other. “We’re really doing this,” they say together, reaching for their beers and toasting to it.

***

Finn loves Jakku Java. Finn owes everything to Jakku Java. But the last thing he wants to do the next day is go back to Jakku Java. He’s on schedule to work all morning with Rey and all afternoon with Poe, which means nine hours of close proximity but zero opportunities to touch.

He swears that they’re teasing him, too. While he works with Rey, he isn’t quite sure that her brushes of his arm aren’t accidental, though his suspicions are high when he feels a ghost of her touch on his ass. By the time he turns around, though, she’s crossed to the espresso machine on the other side.

Poe, however, has no shame in his flirtation. He’s right there in Finn’s face all day, leaning closer than necessary, whispering in his ear when speaking normally would do fine, and definitely, indisputably touching Finn’s ass.

“I hate you both so much,” Finn says when they’ve all three finally clocked out.

“Hey, you’re in this as much as we are,” Poe says, throwing his words back at him with a smile. “We had to wait too.”

They pile into Poe’s car, Finn in the back so Rey can use the heated seat up front, making no excuses this time. Finn pulls Rey into a kiss as soon as they cross the threshold. Poe laughs as he flips on a light, then envelops them both in a hug that leads to a kiss with each of them.

“So it’s been twenty four hours,” Poe says flopping down in the middle of his couch. “Any regrets?”

“None,” Rey says at the same time Finn says, “No regrets.”

They spend some time laying out some ground rules, though the process is broken up by occasional kisses and touches that get them distracted. Poe doesn’t mind telling anyone and everyone he sees about their relationship, but Finn and Rey are more hesitant. They decide that for now, they’ll let people figure it out for themselves, with a couple noted exceptions for those closest to them.

They’re working out a schedule for visiting each other’s apartments (based on their respective work schedules) when Poe’s cat, Bebe, jumps onto the ottoman where they have Rey’s planner and post-it notes spread out, and promptly scatters everything. They make noises of discontent over having to reorganize, but they also can’t help but give Bebe the affection she came for.

“Can we stop being so responsible now?” Poe finally asks when the planner is put away.

“Yes, Poe,” Rey says, patting his knee. “What would you like to do?”

“How about a movie?”

“We still haven’t watched _The Two Towers_ ,” Finn points out.

Poe shakes his head. “We have to watch that when we won’t be distracted. I’m planning on us being distracted.”

“If you think I wasn’t distracted during _Fellowship_ then you’re living in a fantasy world,” Finn mumbles.

“Oh yeah?” Poe asks, stretching his leg over Finn’s the way he’d done last week.

Finn swallows thickly as he thinks back to that night, driving himself crazy with the desire to reach out and touch both of them and the knowledge that he couldn’t. “You absolute dick,” Finn says with a glare in the present. “You were doing that on purpose.” At Poe’s smug look, Finn grunts in frustration and tackles him, his fingers going to Poe’s sides where he knows he’s most ticklish.

They tumble back into Rey’s lap as they all laugh uproariously, Poe trying to retaliate and Rey just sitting back and enjoying their antics.

Thirty minutes later they choose a movie randomly on Netflix, too caught up in each other to pay it any attention.

Finn can’t believe his luck. He’s got these two amazing people who fell into his life, just because he couldn’t resist the call of caffeine, and now he doesn’t have to hold back when he wants to wrap his arms around them or nuzzle into their necks.

There’s no doubt about it. He made the right choice leaving First Order. He still has the occasional bad day, sure, but he’s never been happier in his life.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Please come talk to me about these three on [tumblr](http://candidlily.tumblr.com)!


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